2025:CGHC:19068 NAFR Digitally signe d by GOURI GOURI MUDALIAR MUDALIAR Date:

2025.04.29

19:04:01 HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR +0530 MCRC No. 3257 of 2025 Mukesh Bhagat S/o Ramavtar Bhagat Aged About 42 Years R/o Village Samoli, Police Station Kursela, District Katihar, Bihar ... Applicant versus State Of Chhattisgarh Through Station House Officer, Police Station-

Khamtarai, Raipur, District Raipur, Chhattisgarh.

... Respondent For Applicant : Shri Ali Afzaal Mirza, Advocate.

For : Shri Sakib Ahmed, PL.

Respondent/State Hon'ble Mr. Ramesh Sinha, Chief Justice

Order on Board

28/04/2025

1. This is the first bail application filed under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for short ‘BNSS’) for grant of regular bail to the applicant who has been arrested in connection with Crime No.94/2025 registered at Police Station Khamtarai Raipur, District - Raipur (CG) for the offence punishable under Sections 318(4), 331(3), 308(5), 3(5) of BNS 2023.

2. Case of the prosecution, is that on 08.02.2025 at around 11:00 A.M., the complainant was inside her home, when two persons entered the house by pushing the slide gate. The husband of the complainant was sitting in the front, and the accused persons sat at the front of the bed, thereafter they said that they have brought a powder for cleaning tiles, copper, brass and other utensils and they have come from Gujarat. The complainant first gave them a copper pot, which they cleaned. Thereafter, the accused persons said that they will clean Gold and Silver ornaments as well, and they will shine. Then the accused persons asked for the toe ring of the complainant, to which the complainant said that it will not come off. The accused persons applied a red powder on her neck and hands, on the mangalsutra which has an imprint of Goddess Lakshmi ji, and two pair of bracelets on the hands of the complainant and three rings on which one white pearl is attached, in one stone is removed and one is a design ring. That, due to the powder the neck and hands of the complainant started burning, and the accused persons said that she should remove the jewelry quickly, the complainant removed the jewelry quickly as advised by the accused persons, then one accused persons took out a stone and submerged it in a utensil filled with water along with the other jewelry items, and in one pot which had gold items along with a powder with white polythene, the accused persons told the complainant after he put a stapler on the pot, to open the pot after 10 minutes and her gold jeweler which shine, and then the accused persons left the house of the complainant, when the husband of the complainant saw the polythene he saw that it had plastic bangles, and when the complainant came out she saw that 5-6 persons were fleeing away from her house on motorcycles. The accused persons have cheated the complainant and have taken her mangalsutra, two pair designer- bangles, 3 rings weighing about 8-9 tola, amounting to Rs. 7,00,000/- on the pretext of cleaning her jewelry. On the basis of the report made by the complainant police station Khamtarai registered an offence against the present applicant for the offence U/s 318(4), 331(3), 308(5), 3(5) of BNS 2023 under the crime no. 94/2025 and took the matter under investigation.

3. Learned counsel for the applicant submits that the applicant is innocent and he has been falsely implicated in the present case. He would submit that during the investigation the investigating officer has presented a pen drive along with the charge sheet wherein the co- accused persons are seen entering the house of the complainant and even exiting after sometime. The aforesaid pen drive contain CCTV Footage of the house of the complainant and in that footage the present applicant can nowhere be found. He would submit that the applicant is nowhere related to the other accused persons and as per the footage of the CCTV no nexus can be established of the crime with the applicant, there is no c